04/27/06 Ag Deal in Question

Ag trade deal in question. I'm Greg Martin with today's Line On Agriculture. According to Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns he is hopeful but also realizes that the April 30th deadline for the next phase of the WTO ag trade reform deal may pass without resolution. Johanns assesses where the US, European Union, and developing nations stand as the deadline to approve WTO trade modalities arrives April 30th. JOHANNS: The key continues to be for us market access. We've put forward a very bold proposal in terms of domestic support. We have said we are willing to cut our support but it is contingent on our ability to gain access to other markets. In terms of developing countries, they've got to be willing to talk about and negotiate for greater market access in manufacturing and services. And then in terms of the European Union, market access is very key there. The tariffs are just too high and we've got to figure out a way to bring those down, gain market access for our products, so we have a hope of doing business on a worldwide basis. So those really are the keys. There's no one silver bullet. But very clearly, our proposals ambition has not yet been met in my opinion. Tuesday, Johanns said that the failure of the Doha Round may boost trade talks with individual countries - but won`t do much to improve global structural barriers to U.S. ag exports. JOHANNS: You would see a worldwide effort for countries to engage in bi-lateral, multi-lateral trade agreements along the line of what we have done in the past and other parts of the world have also done in the past. But you don't really reform worldwide agricultural issues or trade issues in a bi-lateral agreement. Subsidies won't change, market access in many parts of the world won't change. But Dale Moore - Johanns chief of staff - told ag journalists Tuesday that doesn`t mean the Bush administration believes the Doha Round is doomed to failure. That`s why Moore says Johanns and outgoing U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman are headed back to Geneva this weekend MOORE: We've got a lot of positive things going on and we jump into this Doha Round. Secretary Johanns, Ambassador Portman have spent a tremendous amount of time on the road over the past year. We have made it clear that we won't settle for a Doha agreement without significant progress in market access. Our commitment to a successful conclusion to the Doha Round remains strong. And in just a few days the Secretary and the Ambassador will be headed over to Geneva again for another round on that front. That's today's Line On Agriculture. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.